Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek

23 May 2024

Reading From I Chronicles 23-25

“When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”

–I Chronicles 23:1-5

     Leadership transitions can be dicey situations.  In the case of monarchy, the usual pattern is for the crown not to be passed until the death of the sovereign.  This has, in many cases in history, led to a succession crisis and in the turmoil that results, advances made during the reign of the late monarch can be lost and the unrest creates setbacks for the new king or queen.  The preparedness of the incoming ruler has much to do with the amount of training given or not given prior to ascending the throne. 

     In the case of David and Solomon, the difficulty of this transition seems to have been reduced by the aged king installing his heir prior to his own passing.  This ensured that Solomon would be king and from our study yesterday we found that David did much to prepare material for the temple to be built by his son and he prayed for him.  What a difference this was from the transition between Saul and David which was full of bitterness and jealous and violence. 

     May we glean wisdom from this transition between David and Solomon to be applied to our own lives as we pass batons of leadership in the Kingdom of God from one generation to another.  We should be faithful to train, gather resources for the future, and pray earnestly for young leaders as we gradually give more and more responsibility to them.  May God give us grace upon grace as we navigate into the future of the Church.

“God, thank You for the tremendous trove of wisdom found in Your magnificent Word the Bible.  I pray that we would have sense enough to read, study, and apply this knowledge to our daily lives and in raising up new laborers in Your Vineyard.  Advance Your Kingdom of Light in this dark world.  Bring the warmth of Your love and the blessing of Your vision to our lives as You guide us into the future.  May we fulfill our destiny in You.  Amen.”

He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.

–Daniel 2:21

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built upuntil we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

–Ephesians 4:11-13

Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 

–Jeremiah 3:15

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

–Titus 2:11-15